#vergilxreader

“I’m sure we’ll find something,” He said. “I doubt a client would have called just to mess with us.”

“Haven’t seen anything yet,” Lady said with a yawn. “You got anything, Rose?”

“Afraid not,” You said. “But maybe that’s a good thing.” You pressed your hand along the ground again, feeling for the roots. The streets of Red Grave had been torn up in the incident, and many plants had begun to grow through the holes in the concrete. There were also a lot of demon plants buried deep in the soil, but none of them would emerge without your provocation. Without the tree or you to fuel them, they were worthless and wilting. But you felt no unusual gaps beyond what you’d expect, and no signs of plant demons that simply hadn’t shown themselves. “I doubt I’d sense anything before the brothers.”

“Probably true,” Lady said. “It was worth checking.”

Vergil stopped suddenly. Dante knocked into him, earning a summoned sword to the shoulder. A month ago, such a random act of violence would have startled you. Now, you realized that Dante either felt no paint or didn’t care in the slightest. “What is it, Verge?” He said. “I don’t feel a thing.”

“Then you’re not trying hard enough,” Vergil said. 

“Or maybe I’m not as in tune with the demon world as you.”

Vergil said nothing after that, but you noticed how his hand moved almost protectively to Yamato. Did he sense something? Vergil wasn’t the type of person to lie about such a thing. You’d learned over the course of your time together that he preferred brutal honesty to white lies, and you’d often been on the receiving end of such thoughts. And maybe Dante was right. You didn’t know too much about the tree, but if Vergil’s other half had raised it… then maybe…

Pay attention, my little vine, V had once said to you in a situation eerily similar to this one. Some demons can hide themselves in plain sight, even from those who should know they are there. And he’d been right then too, as you quickly found demons that had managed to transform into objects on the streets and a strange suit of armor that came careening off the roof.

The roof. 

You stopped in your tracks, eyes drifting upward. You wouldn’t sense anything on the buildings unless the plants themselves were up there. Surely Vergil and Dante would have thought of such a thing already, but none of you had made the effort to actually check. Maybe from there, you could see something you couldn’t from down here? It was a possibility. So, without telling anyone - you’d catch up to them anyway - you moved toward a set of flowers budding beside a building. You knelt down, wrapping your hand around one. You willed it to grow and it did, expanding into a flower the size of a small seat. You plopped down on it, drawing the roots upward. It moved quicker than you expected, but you hopped onto the roof with relative ease. 

To your surprise, there were some plants on top, but they looked strange. They were like flowers, black and white petals with yellow stems. But the bulbous roots reminded you of the demon you’d killed forever ago. You knelt by one, feeling for its roots. But it didn’t have any. The plant just existed as if…

Oh. 

You stood up, looking to the other rooftops. There were hundreds of these plants spread out before you like egg sacs clinging to buildings. Some were bigger than others, reaching up to your knees while some only came up to your ankle. But they were most certainly demonic, you just weren’t sure how far their reach was. 

You jumped as Vergil appeared in front of you. “Stop doing that,” You wheezed, grabbing at your heart. 

He looked around, lips tightening as you assumed he made the same connection as you. “They don’t smell like anything,” He said. “They don’t even feel like demons.”

“They’re not normal plants,” You said. “They’re not grounded in soil, they're just… there, somehow growing through the concrete.” 

Vergil frowned, teleporting to the next building where more plants waited. You summoned your own small bridge, joining him on the other side. “They have to be demons, right?”

“It’s possible these were left behind by the tree, but didn’t manifest until now.”

“This place is usually a dead zone,” You said. “So Lady, Trish and I had no reason to be out here. Wouldn’t have even seen them.”

Suddenly, a pod nearby cracked. You both spun toward it with Vergil stepping in front of you. You might have thought the gesture nice if you weren’t staring at the plant falling apart. The center burst, and dozens of hand sized spiders with flowers for heads emerged. You took a long step back, but the other flowers around you began to crack. “Vergil…”

You gasped he appeared behind you, quite literally dragging you right off the roof. You landed in his arms but it still jarred your neck to an uncomfortable degree. “Ow.”

“Summon your plants,” He said as he quite nearly dropped you. “Dante!” 

“Way ahead of you!” His brother’s voice called back, but you couldn’t see the other three. Loud screeches echoed in all directions as spiders began spilling off the rooftops. You summoned every plant you could, slamming at them with vines and roots of all shapes and sizes, but there were hundreds of the things skittering down from the rooftops including some that were as big as you. 

You barely felt Vergil grab your wrist as he yanked you away from the onslaught. You stumbled at first, but found your footing and took off with him, summoning whatever you could with each step. The plants drove the spiders back, but most were used as climbing tools to reach the ground quicker. In another second, Vergil grabbed you and leapt an impossible height, back onto one of the buildings. He dropped you, but you didn’t have the time to be angry as he unsheathed Yamato and sliced all the demons around you in one go. You saw Dante and the girls down on the street, tearing through whatever they could. But the waves of spiders descended upon them in droves. It was a horrifying sight, one you knew would plague your nightmares if you all got of here alive. 

A quiet cackle echoed in your mind. The vine constricted around your heart, shooting pain through your limbs. You grabbed at it, flinching away from the edge as your vision blurred. “What is it?” Vergil said. 

“I don’t…” You paused, trying to remember where you’d felt this feeling before. Once with him, but not because of him. At least, that’s what you could remember. No, it was something else. Something driving the vine into a frenzy. Something like…

“Another sister,” You whispered. “Or a relative of some kind.”

“What?” Vergil said. 

“I felt like this with that plant demon the other day,” You said. “I thought it was just because you were there… but maybe it was because of her…” You stepped up to the edge of the building again, searching for any large demon possible. But even cleared, your fallible human vision didn’t reach all that far. You summoned enough plants to hop to the next rooftop, stabbing through the few bulbs that had yet to break open. You spread your own vines as fast as possible, killing the horde of spiders inside. Vergil followed suit, slicing the other three plants to a fine dust. 

“You think something else is here?”

“They must be under someone’s control,” You said. “Why else would they have all broken out now?”

“Lots of reasons,” Vergil said. 

“But if someone is controlling them, then maybe finding that person will stop them.”

“Or it will do absolutely nothing.”

“Well unless you’ve got a few flamethrowers hiding under your jacket I don’t think we have many other options.” You moved to the next building, killing the single plant there. The others had already broken open, but the spiders were all focused on pouring out over the ground. You found that odd. Shouldn’t they be reacting to you? Or Vergil at the very least? Were they that intent on killing Dante? Or was there something about you distracting them?

“If the demon’s another sister, then maybe the spiders are ignoring me,” You mumbled, more to yourself than Vergil. 

Of course, he heard you anyway. “It doesn’t explain why they haven’t attacked me.”

“Yes it does,” You said, your tone a bit sour. “If she’s someone else that pledged her allegiance to you.” You moved to the next building, summoning plants wherever you went. You had a whole network of many bridges as you jumped past Dante and the others. They were handling themselves just fine, though Lady had this horrified disgusted look on her face that you could deeply relate to. “Hold on,” you whispered, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. Vergil was moving close behind, using your makeshift pathways rather than teleporting around himself. You wondered why that was a conscious choice, but shook the thought off. Now was not the time to be questioning someone you never understood anyway. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you found what you thought you were looking for. A giant hole in the ground that some spiders were coming out of.  You wrinkled your nose at the thought of entering such a thing, but you’d come too far to back out now. You could practically feel the vine tugging at you, but you couldn’t tell if it was excitement to see whoever was down there, or some kind of defensive mechanism warning you to run away. And you could just send Vergil in there alone - that was probably the smarter move- but the spiders had avoided you until now… maybe their controller would talk to you too. 

You gently lowered yourself off the building, pulling back all of the plants you’d used to traverse the rooftops. You felt your energy replenish in a heartbeat. Vergil hopped down beside you and the spiders ran around you both. You glanced at him, but he was already moving toward the hole. “Stay here,” He said. 

Your legs stopped mid-step, rooting you to the spot. “You’re joking right?” You said. “You’re just going to leave me here, powerless to fight anything, as you go down into the hole that I found?”

He glanced back at you. “I never said you couldn’t fight.”

“You still suck at this,” You said, gesturing to your legs. “Stay here? Really?”

He glared at you. “Move.”

You stumbled forward, caught off guard by the sudden feeling in your legs again. “I’m going with you.”

“And if I say no?”

“You won’t,” You said. “Besides, how do you know the spiders won’t just chase you if you abandon me?”

“It was your theory that whatever is down there is on my side.”

“Or it's on mine and you’re just lucky,” you said as you crossed your arms. “Now are we going to keep arguing or are you going to take me down there?”

His glare intensified, but, to his credit, he did move to pick you up. “Foolish woman,” He muttered as you wrapped your arms around his neck and peered into the hole you were about to plummet into. 

“Stubborn half-demon,” You said lamely. It was quite possibly the worst response you could have come up with, but it was all you could think of in the heat of the moment. And Vergil’s dramatic eye-roll told you it hadn’t landed well. “What are you waiting for?” you snapped. “Just ju-”

You couldn’t stop the scream of surprise when he did what you asked, dropping into the hole with little fanfare. You pressed your face into his chest, imagining all the ways you might break to pieces at the bottom of this drop. But as the fall continued, you heard the unfurling of something above you. Something like…

Wings? 

You jerked your head up to meet Vergil’s gaze. And you might have dwelled on the fact that he’d been staring at you that whole time more if a pair of beautiful, bright blue wings weren’t stretched out behind him, glowing in the dark. They flapped once, slowing your fall to a gentle glide. For once, his smirk remained longer than a few seconds. “Surprised?” He said. 

“Your demon form has wings?”

“Of course.”

You scowled at him. “That’s not a given trait of demons last time I checked.”

He landed with a quiet thud, but you barely even felt it. The wings vanished, likely summoned by some crazy demon magic. He sat you down this time - generous of him - and gazed up into a dark tunnel. You yelped as you felt spiders skitter past you, but they were few and far between. Thank whomever for small favors as you think you might have died from a heart attack had they been as plentiful in here as they were up top. “So how far does it…” You trailed off as you realized his eyes were glowing a brilliant blue, much brighter than his usual, silver-blue irises. 

“Stay close,” He said, a command you didn’t mind following for once, as he moved forward through the tunnel.  And while you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, the world felt strange. While you normally sensed the plants under your feet, this time you could feel them everywhere. Underneath you. Over your head. On both sides. You tested the waters, running your hand along the wall. You felt plants emerge at your fingers, but jumped when Vergil grabbed your hand. “Don’t do that.”

“I was just testing it out,” You said. 

“And bring the whole tunnel down on us?”

“I’m more careful than that,” You huffed. “Ye of so little-” He stopped you again with a hand on your shoulder, cutting the conversation short. That’s when you realized there was a light at the end of the tunnel. “Is it a demon?” You whispered. 

“Yes,” Vergil said. 

“So I was right?”

He glared at you again, but it was much softer than usual. Odd. “It seems so.”

You both moved forward as the light expanded. Soon, you found yourself in a pit at the end of the tunnel with rays of sun seeping through small holes in the ceiling. A massive spider was in the center of the room. You gasped as it turned toward you noticing there was a human form embedded on its stomach. At first, you thought it might be someone else like you. Someone sealed away in a demon. But then the human’s eyes shot open and a wicked smile crossed her face. “Well, well,” She said. “I thought I sensed my cousin… never expected it would be you.”

“I’ve heard that before,” You said. 

“So you killed Belladonna?” The spider said. “Good riddance. She always was a nuisance.” The spider took numerous steps forward, beady eyes jumping between yourself and Vergil. “Are you here to kill me, Demon King?”

“Yes,” Vergil said simply. 

“Unfortunate,” The demon said. “I had hoped we could…"

You jumped as Vergil disappeared. A second later, the demon screeched as demonic blood squirted in all directions. The demon collapsed before your eyes, dead. Vergil reappeared beside you, clicking Yamato closed as usual. The spiders around you fell from the ceiling, collapsing all around you. “Well that’s… anticlimactic.”

“No point in letting the thing talk,” He said. “We need to return to the surface.” 

Then, the spiders began to move. 

You lurched backward as they filled the doorway, all of them turning on you. Vergil killed the ones he could, and you pulled on the roots nearby. But they were numerous, as if all the spiders from the surface had come to avenge their master.

Suddenly, you felt it. A spike of demonic energy that washed over you like a waterfall. In another second, Vergil was gone, replaced by a massive, blue demon. You swore the vine in your chest shrieked in response as you stumbled away. No. A voice whispered. Was it your own? You weren’t sure. You were frozen in terror as the demon tore through the spiders, incinerating them with strike after strike. “No,” You whispered as the power bore down on your chest. You recognized it. It was the demon that had sealed you away. It was back. Back to seal you away again. 

No. No. No. No.

You held your head, panic overcoming you. What was happening? That was Vergil, right? He wouldn’t hurt you. He couldn’t hurt you. He was in control. 

… Right?

“My little vine…”

Your head jerked upright as the blue demon stood before you. His voice was low and distorted, but you could almost hear Vergil - no, you could almost hear V - behind it. You scrambled backward. “Don’t be afraid.”

“Afraid?” You said. “How? You’re…” You trailed off as he knelt before you, claws reaching out to gently stroke your face. Your heart slowed at the touch. The vine uncoiled, confused just as much as you. “You’re the…”

His demonic form dissipated and Vergil returned. His hand didn’t move, but you did feel his thumb stroke your cheek. It was then that you realized you were crying. “It’s alright,” He whispered. “I’m here.”

You didn’t know why that comforted you, but you found yourself leaning into his hand. This had happened once before with V. You’d been in a panic after a demon almost killed you, and he’d joined you just like this. Hand on your cheek, wiping away your tears with a quiet promise. I’m here. 

“You remember,” You whispered. 

Early on, you decided just to stay in your room. You figured Vergil wouldn’t care. In fact, you assumed he’d be relieved when you didn’t show up at your usual leaving time and just head out on his own. You did try to do something with your time, whether it be reading or writing or just… anything else. But you kept finding yourself right back in bed, staring either at the ceiling or the back of your eyelids for hours on end. And you supposed it was about time for something like this. You’d been in denial for so long that it was inevitable, really. And now that the nightmares had returned, you wondered if you’d ever get another good night of sleep again. 

At one point, you glanced at the bracelets still adorning your wrists. You hadn’t had the heart to remove them, nor did you know what to do with them. You promised to hold onto them until he returned. Technically, he had. But you had a feeling Vergil wouldn’t want one. He’d never want it. Of that you were certain.

When 2pm hit, you were surprised by another quiet knock at the door. 

You stared at the wilting blue roses in front of you. The rest of the plants were in an equal state of disarray, fueled by your terrible mood. You’d be able to fix them once you felt better, but there was nothing you could do about it now. You had yet to take a shower, nor had you changed out of the pajamas you’d been wearing for the last day and a half. You really didn’t even want to answer the door, but you didn’t think you’d be able to pretend you weren’t there either. The brothers alone could probably sense you, even if Trish wasn’t home. And the only person you’d heard leave this morning was Dante. There was a chance it was Trish or Lady, but you just had a feeling. You’d been around Vergil long enough that you could practically sense him now. You didn’t know if it had something to do with him being your vine’s “master” or not. It really didn’t matter. 

Finally, you sighed and forced yourself up right. You flicked your hand and one of the vines wrapped around the knob and jerked it open. In stepped Vergil, dressed as immaculate as ever. Not a hair was out of place, and you wondered what he’d been doing all morning. Probably reading. You were convinced that was all he ever did when not killing demons or arguing with his brother. “Are you going to lie around all day?” He said. 

You glared at him as you reached for a pillow. “If you have nothing good to say I suggest you leave.” 

You heard him sigh as you rolled away, wrapping yourself up stubbornly in the blankets. “Your plants are dying.” 

You felt like crying, but held it back. “Thanks. I hadn’t noticed.”

“Which means you aren’t feeling well, yes?”

“Why do you care?” You said, refusing to look at him. “I thought you’d be happy without someone to pester you.”

You heard another sigh, followed by the door closing. What was his plan? Drag you out of bed and force you on a mission? Sit in the room until he intimidated you out of bed? What was the point in all of this? You wished he would just leave and so you could wallow the day away and hope you felt better tomorrow. But then, just as the silence was about to get unbearable, you felt something drop on top of the blankets. “Get dressed,” Vergil said. “We leave in 15 minutes.”

You flinched at the command, swallowing in an attempt to ignore it. “I’m not interested, Vergil.”

“I’m not asking.”

“Just go on your own,” You muttered. “You’ve proven time and time again you don’t need my help.”

“There aren’t any tasks today,” he said. 

“I’m not scouting either.”

“Get dressed,” he repeated. 

The vine twisted tighter in your chest, begging you to respond. You stubbornly ignored the pain. Instead, you lurched upright, awkwardly unwrapping yourself from the blankets enough to glare at him. “You don’t get it do you?”

“If I don’t intervene then you will waste the rest of the day away.”

“And maybe that’s what I need to do.” 

“But is it what you want to do?”

“Of course not,” you snap. “But sometimes life doesn’t give you much of a choice.”

“I’m giving you a choice,” He said as calm as ever. 

“Last time I checked,” You said. “You weren’t life.”

“I’m not asking again,” Vergil said, clicking Yamato. “You can either get dressed and come with me or sit there and waste the rest of your day away.” He left before you could respond, quite nearly slamming the door behind him. You glared at it for far too long but groaned when some of your plants bloomed back to life. Of course they would respond to anger. At least you knew you had the energy to fuel them. Maybe you could find the strength to get out of bed today. Or you could just ignore him and go back to sleep. 

But you found yourself… conflicted. Where could Vergil possibly take you that would make your day better that didn’t involve demons? Now you were curious, and you had a feeling he knew it. 

Curse that nosy, infuriating blue-devil. 

Finally, you got yourself out of bed. You were surprised to find that Vergil had tossed you a matching pair of clothes and your favorite jacket. Had he really been paying that much attention to you? Impossible. Even on jobs he rarely looked at you. Maybe he’d just gotten lucky with his choices. Regardless, you begrudgingly put them on, lacking the energy to find anything else, threw your hair up into a messy pony-tail and found one of your perfumes to mask the lack of a shower. At the end of it, you stared at yourself in the mirror, wondering if this was the right decision. You could still feel your bed pulling at you, but you were able to ignore it as you wandered down the stairs where Vergil was waiting. 

“So where are we going?” You said. 

He cut open a portal and stepped aside. “Go.”

You scowled as your feet twitched, aching to follow the command. “You’re terrible at this “avoiding accidental commands” thing today.”

“They’re not accidental,” He said. “Now go.” 

“Asshole,” You muttered as you found yourself unable to ignore his summons any longer. You stepped through the portal as miserable-looking as possible, but your mood perked when you saw where he’d taken you. “An animal shelter?” You said as he stepped out beside you and the portal snapped shut. “What are we doing here?”

“Dante has agreed that the shop could be a bit more lively for days that you might be home alone.” He glanced at you. “Something that isn’t fully dependent on your moods.”

For some reason, you found yourself excited. “We’re getting a pet?”

“You are, yes,” Vergil said. “Morrison has taken care of all the paperwork. You just need to pick the one that suits you.” He crossed his arms. “A quiet one, preferably.”

“Is that a command?”

Vergil sighed. “No. It’s entirely yours to pick and take care of.”

You rolled your eyes. “You got it, dad.”

Vergil scowled, but you just laughed as you made your way across the street. “Are you coming with me?”

Vergil’s eyebrow shot up. “You want me to join you?”

You paused. “It’s probably best that you do, right? Not every animal will feel comfortable around a demon, so we should probably find one that is.”

Slowly, Vergil nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.”

“Is that a compliment?”

He huffed as he walked by you, but you were quick to catch up. As the doors opened, dozens of smells almost overwhelmed you. A dozen sunflowers nearby started to grow, but you caught yourself and shrunk them again before anyone noticed. A short brunette grinned at both of you from behind the counter. “Welcome!” She said. “Here for an adoption?”

“Yes,” Vergil said, slipping past you as he reached into his coat and put a stack of papers on the table. 

The woman looked them over quickly and nodded. “Anybody in particular you’re looking for?”

“Cats,” You said. Vergil glanced at you in what might have been surprise, but you were too excited to care. “Something that loves to cuddle and play, but can also spend some time alone while we’re at work.” 

The woman nodded again. “I always love helping couples pick out their first little buddy.”

You blinked. Vergil stiffened beside you. “Oh no, it's not like that.” You said.

The woman chuckled. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.” She winked as she turned away, leaving you flustered. Vergil just rolled his eyes and followed after the woman. You rushed to catch up to them. “No really, it’s…”

“Stop,” Vergil said. You froze in place, glaring at him. “Not like that.”

“How else is one supposed to stop?”

He sighed in annoyance. “Stop… stopping.”

You let go of a breath as your body released. “Stop doing that.”

“It’s harder than it looks.”

“Clearly,” You walked past him, but your irritation faded the second you stepped into the kitten corral. Various pitches of meows greeted you as numerous kittens moved toward the front of their cages and peered at you. Some ignored you completely. Others were playing with each other. You followed along the sides, peering at as many kittens as you could. “They’re so cute!” You breathed. 

“You’ll probably want an older cat,” The woman said. “You’ll find those over here.” 

On the way, you stopped at a certain cage, your heart swelling the second you saw the black cat inside. It was alone, curled up in a ball and purring as it slept the day away. But all you could see was a smaller Shadow, waiting for you to take him away. “Hey little guy,” You whispered, reaching your fingers through the cage to gently pet its ears. The cat’s eyes opened, but he just eyed you curiously, his tail flicking back and forth. 

“That’s one of our new arrivals,” The woman said. “We’ve been calling him Shadow.”

“Can I hold him?”

“Of course!” She said as she opened the cage. “He’s incredibly calm and quiet. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t been adopted before now.” She gently pulled Shadow from his cage, handing him to you. The cat purred as you held him like a baby, scratching behind his ears.

“Vergil!” You said, turning toward him. You were surprised to find that he was waiting in the doorway, eyes locked on you. After a moment, you moved toward him, holding Shadow out. “What do you think?”

“He’s your pet,” Vergil said. “I don’t…” He trailed off as you shoved the cat into his arms. Vergil’s eyes widened before moving back to the cat himself. The creature sat up in Vergil’s arms, eyes meeting his. You swore you saw Vergil melt just a bit. His shoulders relaxed. His gaze softened. For the briefest of moments, you could imagine V standing there, smiling as he cradled the cat with the same fondness he’d given his familiars. You shook your head, dispelling the image. Vergil wasn’t smiling, but his mouth was surprisingly agape, and you wondered what he was thinking. Did he even remember Shadow? Surely something so important to his human self would have remained in his head. But he hadn’t remembered you, so nobody but Vergil knew how all of that worked. 

But you’d never seen him like this. Relaxed. Slightly surprised. Guard down. He’d always been so uptight around you, especially after the greenhouse incident. But this was more… V like. A man that didn’t care what people thought of him and wasn’t afraid of his own emotions. 

“Vergil?”

He snapped his mouth closed and his muscles returned to their original rigidity. He handed Shadow back before crossing his arms and leaning against the door. “It's your choice,” he said, but you heard a strange sense of longing in his tone. 

You looked down at the cat, only to see it staring back at you. “I think we’ve found our companion,” You said. This time, Vergil didn’t react to your wording. In fact, he almost seemed to relax. 

The woman smiled. “I’ll get the paperwork.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Dante said when he returned home to find you playing with your new cat in the lobby. Vergil was reading on the couch behind you, but you hadn’t missed how his eyes had occasionally drifted to you and Shadow throughout the evening. Of course, he never asked to hold the cat again, and you knew he would never admit to wanting to play with him, but you knew he approved. “And let me guess. His name is Shadow. ”

“The adoption center named him,” You said. 

“But that is his name, yeah?”

You smiled as Shadow curled up into your lap, purring. “Maybe.”

Dante laughed as he plopped down at his desk. “And Vergil approved?”

“It wasn’t my choice,” Vergil said.

You rolled your eyes. “He’s said that a lot today.” You scratched behind Shadow’s ears. “But he didn’t complain when we went shopping for the toys, the food, or the crate. We got Shadow a bed too! So, I’d call that a victory.”

“Verge loves him,” Dante said as he kicked his feet up. “I can tell by the look on his face.” 

Vergil didn’t say anything, but you were more than used to that by now. “Well it’s a good time for us to get to bed,” You said, rising from your seat on the floor with Shadow in hand. The cat meowed as it yawned, approving of your decision. “When are we leaving tomorrow?”

Vergil’s eyes shot up in surprise. “What?”

“Well you have a plan, don’t you?” You said, nuzzling your cat. 

“... I’ll tell you in the morning.”

You groaned. “You’re far too optimistic.”

He took your hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of it. “Only for you.” You blushed. The rose on your side table bloomed. You glared at it, but V just laughed. “No use in hiding your moods.”

“Is that why you put it there?”

“I want you to be comfortable,” V said. “If it helps… then it helps.”

And it did help. You felt connected to the plants now, for better or for worse. Their energy was yours to manipulate, even if it would be months before you fully understood how to make it work. Not that you would ever understand why it worked. You just knew it did. “So what’s the plan?”

“You need to sleep.”

You frowned. “After a nightmare like that?”

V sat his cane down. Shadow appeared at his feet, hopping onto the bed and curling up behind you. “Would it be alright if I accompanied you?”

“In bed?”

V nodded. “You do well with Shadow, and I think you might do well with me,” His hand gently moved your hair behind your ear. “It’s your choice.”

Shadow purred as you nodded, holding your hand out to him. “Don’t go,” You whispered. “I don’t want to be alone.” You trusted him already. He’d saved you. He’d protected you from the demons that threatened your life and taught you everything you knew. And maybe you were too trusting, but you didn’t care. You had nothing else. Nothing but your plants, your vine, and him. And V followed as you pulled him, lying on the bed with the covers between you. One hand rested on your side as Shadow’s continued purring began to lull you to sleep. 

“I’m here,” He said. “Just for you.”

--------------

You woke up slowly as if rising from underwater. You smelled a variety of strong, conflicting scents and, when you opened your eyes, you were overwhelmed by foliage. Plants were everywhere, spilling from baskets and hanging from the ceiling. Your single red rose had turned into twelve blue ones that were all a bit larger than normal. Stems were braided in the corners. Flowers covered every surface, spilling down over your drawers, up your mirror and around the legs of all the furniture. When you sat up, you were relieved to see that none of them were bursting through the floor. No, someone had put all of these in your room, but you had a feeling it hadn’t looked like this when they were done. 

You turned slowly, feet touching the cold, wooden floor. You closed your eyes, feeling for all the plants on the edges of your mind. Once you found a few, you waved your hand, pulling back some of the life within them. When you opened your eyes again, many had shrunk back to an acceptable size. It was then that you realized you were in one of your nightgowns and your hair was still wet. How long had you been out? Who changed you? Why all of this?

A light knock at the door was one you instantly recognized. Lady! You tried to stand, but dizziness had you sitting right back on the bed. “Come in.”

Your jaw went slack when it was Vergil that entered, brushing aside the vines as he closed the door behind him. You suddenly felt very exposed, even though you were well covered. His expressionless gaze almost had you wilting. A few of your flowers shrank with your mood. “What do you want?” You said warily, lacking the energy needed for your usual sass. In fact, you felt drained, way more than you thought you should after absorbing such a large demon. You took one of the roses and lay it in your hand, watching as it withered away, donating its life to you. You placed it back on the table and looked up at him. 

“I’ve been informed that I am, under no uncertain terms, to make a truce with you.”

“A truce?” You echoed. “What?”

“I am to stop antagonizing you and avoid giving accidental commands whenever possible.” You were almost impressed at how even his voice sounded. There was no disdain as far as you could tell, but his face didn’t give anything away. He was talking pure business, and that was something you could manage. 

“That would be appreciated,” You said. 

“I’ve also been informed that I am to be your partner for the foreseeable future.”

“My what now?”  You said. “I don’t need…”

“Neither do I,” He interrupted. “But considering the circumstances behind your… condition… the others have tasked me with ensuring that you are…” His jaw set. “Taken care of.”

You snorted. “What did you put it to a vote?”

“I had no part in that decision,” He said flatly. 

“But you’re going with it anyway.?”

“Unless you tell me otherwise.”

“Is that a sliver of hope I hear?”

His eyes narrowed. “Dante has made it very clear that he would be… disappointed in me if that were to happen.”

“Oh good,” You said. “Then feel free to leave.”

Vergil’s hand tightened on his sword. “Lady and Trish were going to speak to you first, but…”

“But you jumped at the chance?” You said. “How nice of you.”

“Will you…” He took a deep breath to steady himself and started again. “I did some research on your condition, but we need more time to fix it.”

“Will you stop calling it that?” She said. “You make it sound like I’m slowly dying of some horrible disease.”

“There is nothing else to call it,” Vergil said. 

“I suppose “my mistake” would be too difficult for you to say.”

You didn’t think his eyes could narrow any further. They did. “You’re obnoxious.”

“Are you projecting?” 

He took another slow breath, but you saw the way his knuckles were slowly turning white around the hilt of his katana. Why did you enjoy this so much? Normally making someone this upset (angry? furious?) would bother you. But with him you almost felt vindicated. Maybe it was the fact that your “condition” was his fault to begin with. Maybe it's because you were still in denial and expected V to walk in the door at any time. “Look,” He said. “I don’t expect us to like each other, but everyone expects us to at least get along. Either we can act like adults, or we can both go our separate ways and be done with it.”

You were silent for a long moment. We can act like adults. Nice of him to actually point some of the blame at himself, even if it was in a backhanded way.  But could you trust him? A large part of you said no. It was too easy for him to control you. One slip up or wrong word choice and you’d be caught right under his demonic spell. But if he was being serious… and if the others believed in him... 

“Fine,” You said slowly. “But I have some caveats.” 

You swore you saw his eyebrows twitch. “Such as?”

You held up one finger. “Stop complaining about my music. You’re not going to stop me from listening to it.” You held up a second finger before he could respond. “Let me deal with the demons and stop bringing them inside.” Again, he moved to speak, but you put up a third finger. “Bring home something other than pizza for a change.”

You swore you saw the flicker of a smile. “Fine.”

“Fine,” You repeated. “Then I’ll go with you.

“Morrison has called in a few different requests. Dante and the others went for one, and they expect us to handle the others.”

“Urgent?”

“You have some time.” He said. 

You paused a moment. Then, “How long was I out?”

“Two days.”

You choked. “Two days?”

“I don’t like to repeat myself,” He said as he turned back toward the door. “And I suggest you get these plants figured out.”

“I’ll be the one to worry about my plants,” You said. “You leave them alone.”

Vergil paused, glancing back into the room. “He slept here?”

It took you a moment to realize who he was talking about. Odd that he wasn’t saying “I”, but maybe he too was still struggling with it as much as you. “Most of the time. We never had quite so many plants though.”

He paused again. Then, “I was told this was the best way to even out your demonic energy.”

You blinked. “You did this?”

“I’m leaving in an hour,” He said without looking back. “With or without you.”

Then he left, leaving you irrefutably confused and, surprisingly, a little disappointed. 

-----------------

An hour was rather generous of him, so you made sure to use every bit of it. You even set a hard timer on your phone, so he couldn’t possibly argue with you when you sauntered down to the front of the store exactly 59 minutes since he left, ready to go. This time, you had been a bit smarter about your clothing choice, just in case the vine wanted to come out and play again; a low hanging tank top and a jacket zipped up to your neck to hide the scar. And he did scowl at you - you had a feeling you’d never get away from that - but he didn’t complain and off you went. 

Today, you had three separate jobs; two scouting requests (you didn’t find anything on those) and one suspicious potential demon in a greenhouse on the other side of the city. You ignored the irony that you of all people were sent to the greenhouses, but you realized immediately upon your arrival that it may have been for more reasons than just a demon. The plants inside were sickly. Flowers were wilting. Fruits and vegetables were dying. And, if you remembered right, this was a very important source of food for the people that had survived the tree. 

“Can you fix this?” Vergil said as he knelt in front of vines filled with rotten tomatoes. 

You knelt beside him, brushing your fingers against the vegetables. The rot slowly disappeared, and the tomatoes turned a bright, fresh red once again. “I don’t know about all of them,” You said. “Not without some demons for fuel.”

“There are some around,” He said. 

“Hiding?”

“You can’t feel them?”

You paused, pressing your fingers against the ground. You could feel the roots wrapping around themselves and seeds that had yet to grow. But you could also feel strange holes in between them. Small, humanoid shaped holes. “Not directly,” You said. “But…” You twisted your hand, moving a few of the roots. Then, you pulled your hand up, spearing them through the holes. You heard a few screeches that went silent within seconds. “They’re what's eating the plants away.”

Vergil left your side, slicing through the ground over where you felt one of the holes. He ripped a demon body out of it, stabbing it himself before tossing it at your feet. You wrinkled your nose, grateful it wasn’t one of the stinkier demons you’d dealt with over the last few weeks. “How did you manage that?” You said. 

He smirked, but it faded quickly. “The Yamato can cut through anything.”

Yamato. He spoke of it so fondly. Almost like a parent would a child. That was the first time you’d head that name. Dante had proudly named his own sword “Devil Sword Dante” apparently (and you’d teased him over that more than enough by now), but Yamato seemed… different. Just as special, you assumed, but different in a way you couldn’t understand. You wondered if that would be something he’d be willing to tell you about if you asked. 

“There’s more,” He said. 

“You want me to kill them?”

“That’s what you’re here for.”

You rolled your eyes. “And here I thought you didn’t need me.” You hopped around to the other side of the demon - a small, gremlin looking thing - and unzipped the top of  your vest. The vine was quick this time, sucking out the rest of the demon’s blood with eagerness before vanishing again. You zipped up your jacket and felt for more gaps. You found five in total, but only three were big enough to absorb anything from. However, you made sure to pour back whatever you got into the soil, regrowing all the plants you could. 

“Will they grow back normally?”

You blinked before you realized he’d even spoken. “They should if they’re taken care of,” You said. “But I take care of my own flowers so…” You shrugged as you moved back to the entrance. “There’s more nearby. A lot more. I’ll get what I can but you might have to start carrying your own weight.” You gave him a dismissive wave and wandered over to the next greenhouse before he could respond. You did, however, hear a light sigh of annoyance as you walked away. 

The second greenhouse was as infested as the first, with you uprooting the few you killed and Vergil grabbing others before you could. By the third greenhouse, it had turned into something close to a competition, with him moving much faster than a human should and you stretching your mental connection as far as it could possibly go to beat him to the punch. A few times, you swore he just disappeared and wondered if his demon powers gave him the ability to teleport. Of course, that was probably cheating, but you were at the limits of your power, so it seemed only fair he should get to use his own. 

By the sixth greenhouse you were exhausted, and the demons you were finding weren’t enough to sustain the number of plants you’d brought back to life. You sat down outside of it, breathing heavily as you leaned your head back and let your eyes close. It was the last one, but you weren’t sure if you’d be able to fix it today. Even your senses were muddled, as you weren’t even able to feel the roots of the grass anymore. 

But you’d done a great service. That had to be good enough. 

“Done already?” Vergil said.

You opened your eyes just to glare at him. “Not all of us have the stamina you do.” 

Was that another flicker of a smirk? You weren’t certain. “Maybe you shouldn’t have challenged me.”

“I never challenged you,” You said. “I just told you to stop being dead weight.”

Vergil rolled his eyes. “Stay here. I’ll deal with the rest.”

“Don’t you dare think me weak,” you said, throwing your hand out. It was shaky and fell back against your side quicker than you intended. “I’m more than capable of…” Deep breath. “Keeping up.”

“Clearly,” Vergil said as he entered the greenhouse. You heard the screeches of demons behind you and just closed your eyes again. You’d siphon energy from them later. He’d been pretty good so far at leaving everything for you, but you supposed he didn’t need it. He clearly had all the power he needed while you were left to siphon from the leftovers. 

A rustle from nearby caught your attention. You let your head fall to the side, staring out over the open field. You noticed subtle movement in the grass. But there was no wind to stir it up and nobody in the fields to disturb it. Frowning, you forced yourself to your feet and moved over to where you thought the rustling was coming from. You placed your hand on the ground, drawing from the grass so you could sense what was underneath it. 

Your eyes widened. Big holes. Dozens of them. How had you not sensed them before? 

“Verg…”

You screamed as numerous holes burst open at once. The gremlin demons landed and charged straight at you. You tried to get to your feet, but your exhaustion took over and you crumbled. You reached for the grass, begging it to rise for you. But it wilted instead. You snapped your head up as a gremlin jumped at you. 

Blue lines filled the air between you and the demons. The gremlins screamed as they hit the ground, sliced to pieces. Your eyes caught a blue blur, and the others nearby died in an instant. Vergil appeared before you, sheathing Yamato with a loud, deliberate click. You stared at him, mouth agape as your heart pounded somewhere in your throat. “I didn’t sense them.”

“You were too focused on the greenhouses,” He said. 

“You knew they were there?”

“I knew there were more around,” Vergil turned to the carnage of broken soil and torn roots. “We’ll get some soil sent over from Fortuna. Send Dante out to fix it.”

You pushed yourself back to your feet, wincing as you took a few steps forward. Most of the demons had already bled out, but there were a few you could still absorb. I don’t deserve these, you thought. You didn’t kill them. You weren’t stronger than them. But you needed the energy, and all you could imagine was V smiling as he took a step back, ignoring the demons he and the others had killed in front of you. 

You need it too. 

“Thank you,” You whispered as you zipped your coat back up. 

“Is a day enough time for you to recover?”

You closed your eyes and nodded. “There’s plenty of demons here.”

“Dante promised to bring some home.”

“... That’s kind of him.”

Vergil turned away. “We’re done here.” 

“Wait,” You said as you moved to the last greenhouse. 

“What are you doing?”

“Fixing the last one,” You said as you pushed yourself inside.

“You don’t have the energy for that.”

“You don’t know what kind of energy I have,” You said as you continued into the middle of the greenhouse, turning your hand as you went. The plants bloomed as you passed by, smaller than the other greenhouses, but alive and ready for someone else to take care of them. When you were done, you took a deep breath, listening for the vine. It was silent now, and you wondered if you’d managed to even your energy out. “Now we can go,” You said, but jumped when you realized Vergil was in the doorway. 

“You’re pushing yourself.”

“I’m doing my job,” You said. “Why else would you all have sent me here?” You moved to push past him, but he didn’t let you. His gaze locked with yours, but you still couldn’t read his expression. “What?” You said, unable to hide your frustration. “Were you expecting me to just stand around and watch you do everything?”

“No,” He said. 

“Then what is it?”

“Is this how you were with him?”

You froze, confused. “Like… what with him?”

“Loud and careless.”

Your jaw clenched and your eyes narrowed. “We knew how to work together,” You said. “And respected each other, something I’m not even sure you’re capable of.” 

“It doesn't bother me one bit,” he said one day while looking through one of his more scandalous magazines. “It’s lively around here now, thanks to you.” 

You stared at him. “Lively!?”

Dante laughed as he tossed his magazine toward the trash bin. He missed, of course, and just put his hands on the back of his head. “It’s been a long time since my brother and I shared the same space, but things would have been boring between us. You’re like… chaos incarnate.” You scowled at him, but he just kept going. “Verge can’t predict you, and I think that’s good for him.”

“Good for him?” You said. 

“And it’s entertaining,” Dante said as he grabbed another magazine from his desk.

“How many of those do you have?”

“Just about enough,” He said with a grin. “Now go pester my brother some more.”

“He’s not even home.”

“But he will be-”

Then the phone rang. 

Both of you stared at it for a moment. The phone hadn’t rung once since Dante and Vergil had come back from the Underworld almost a month ago. It was Morrison who had taken all of the calls, sending requests their way in a well-coordinated manner. The only reason the phone was even on the desk was because Dante claimed he was “fond of it”. In fact, you hadn’t even realized it was plugged in, as you all had cell phones now. 

“Should you get that?” You said. 

Dante glanced at you, then back to the phone. Finally, he lifted it off of the receiver. “Devil May-”

“Demons!” A male voice yelled. “There’s a swarm of them outside my house!”

Dante frowned, glancing at you. You nodded, more than ready to get out of the store for a little while. “Where are you?” Dante said. The voice was quieter this time, but Dante just nodded. “We’ll be there shortly.” He tossed the phone back on the receiver and grinned at you. “Sure you wanna come, sunshine?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Only one way we’re going to get there.”

You blinked. “But you don’t have a car.”

“Nope,” He said as he grabbed his sword off the wall. 

“What then?” You said. “Am I piggy-backing?”

He laughed. “Something like that.”

-----------

You don’t know what compelled you to get on that infernal bike. As much as you’d come to trust Dante, riding a demon motorcycle without a helmet and an arguably crazy driver was the last thing you should have done. And he made you pay for it, going far faster than the speed limit, turning corners as sharp as possible, and even jumping a bridge with little care in the world. At some point, you’d been forced to wrap your arms around his stomach to keep from falling right off. And once he’d skidded to a stop in front of an old country home outside of Redgrave, you’d jumped off the bike so fast you almost hit the dirt stumbling away. “Are you crazy?” You said, breathing heavily. 

“But it was fun.” He said as he sent the bike away. 

“Fun!?”

“You were perfectly safe, Sunshine.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“And if I don’t?”

You scowled and stormed toward the building. Except a demonic screech from nearby stopped you in your tracks. You wandered to the side of the building, peering around the back. As the man had said, there were numerous demons. They were ones you’d seen before; fat bodies, flowers for heads with nothing but mouths filled with shark teeth. However, most of them were already dead, and a certain blue-coated man was standing in the middle of the carnage. 

“Hey, Verge!” Dante yelled with a dramatic wave. “Surprised you got here first.”

The elder brother swiped his hand through his hair. “Of course I did,” He said. “You should have sensed them yourself.”

Dante snorted. “From Devil May Cry? You give Sunshine too much credit.”

“Me?” You said. “I can’t sense demons.” 

A rumble beneath your feet stopped you in your tracks. Dante moved first, picking you up before you had a chance to react and leaping an impossible distance away. The ground split open, throwing chunks of earth in all directions. Dante slashed a few that came towards you. The others suddenly turned to dust as Vergil clicked his sword back in its sheath. “Show off,” Dante said. Vergil said nothing. 

Your heart pulsed with sudden energy as vines shot out of the ground. In the next second, a blur of purple emerged, slamming down in front of you. Petals unfurled on top of a bulbous stomach, revealing a humanoid figure from the waist up. Her beady red eyes fell on you as a crown of black rose petals formed on her head. “I knew I sensed you.”

Your heart pulsed again. You flinched, grabbing at it. The demon laughed. “How far you’ve fallen, sister.” Vines snaked out toward you, but they too disintegrated. The creature wasn’t even phased as more vines emerged to take their place. “Take a host, she said. I’ll be stronger than even you.” The demon cackled in pure delight. “Look at you now, sister. Nothing more than a useless vine in a useless body.” 

Your eyes narrowed, but it was Dante who stepped forward. “You picked the wrong place to sprout.”

Her eyes flickered between the brothers. “Sons of Sparda,” She said with a dramatic sigh. “How unfortunate. No matter,” The creature said. “You can’t really blame me. My sister and her master in the same place?” Her eyes came back to you. “Both shadows of their former selves.”

Master… 

“This is a waste of time,” Vergil said. “Just kill her and be done with it.”

“Tired of the interesting stories already, Verge?!” Dante said. 

Vergil reached for his sword. “If you won’t do it then I’ll-”

“Who are you?” You said, taking a step forward. You could feel the weight of Vergil’s glare on the back of your head but ignored him. “I remember her thoughts, and she never spoke of you.”

“Of course not, worm,” The demon said. “I was the better of the two and she just couldn’t accept it.”

Dante snorted. “Now that sounds familiar.”

“You’re lucky she’s here,” Vergil said through gritted teeth. 

“What? Afraid of what she’ll think?” Dante said. “That’s funny coming from you.”

“I suggest you…”

“Shut up,” You snapped as you took another step forward. The vines didn’t move, and the demon was giving you a curious look. “You want your sister back, don’t you?”

“What would make you think that?”

“You came to see her,” you said. “And you couldn’t have known she was in my body.”

“What are you getting at?”

“You know how to remove the piece she left behind.”

After a moment of silence, the demon burst into laughter. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t bother now. She got what she deserved, and I do enjoy the suffering of humans.” Vines crawled up around you but you merely flicked your hand and they slammed back into the ground. The demon’s laughter stopped, her eyes wide. “You retained her powers?”

“Guess you’ll have to find out.” You said as you raised your hand, calling to your own plants. But a sharp pain pierced your chest. You cried out, barely able to remain standing as your vision blurred. 

“Poor little girl,” The demon said. “Can’t even fight without your Master’s permission.”

“What?” 

“You probably thought you were free while he was gone from this world,” The demon said. “But you’re not. Not anymore. That pathetic vine in your heart pledged her allegiance to the Demon King. You’re lucky you can even breathe without his permission.”

Furious, you whirled on Vergil. “Stop… whatever this is.”

“I’m not doing anything,” He said. 

A vine crashed beside you.  You pushed it back, but your head felt like it was splitting open. “I was right then,” You said. “You… You can…” You couldn’t finish that sentence as the realization struck you. He can control me. 

You’d never hated the vine in your chest more in your life. 

“I’m done with you,” The demon said as vines wrapped at your feet. “You’ll die here, sister. And I’ll be free.”

“What are you waiting for?” Vergil said. 

“What?”

“You want to fight?” He crossed his arms. “Then do it.”

Your senses snapped into focus. The fog cleared. The pain ceased. And as the vines tightened, you pulled your hands back as fast as you could. The vines split from her body, falling limp around you. The demon shrieked, swinging her arms out. A new pair of vines stretched off her body. You jumped back and touched the ground. You felt your power seep into the soil and you yanked your hand up. Your own plants emerged, their roots growing large enough to block the strike. “How?” The demon yelled, slamming her vines into your barricade again and again. “My sister trained for years. How can you…?”

“I had a good teacher,” You said. Then, you took off into a sprint. Each time a vine swung toward you, you dodged to the side, pulling up more plants to block her path. Her attacks were more frantic, some swinging right over your head. Others missed you entirely. More plants grew; flowers from deep in the soil. Grass that grew and twisted until it was as thick as the vines themselves. As you reached the demon, you slid under her belly, pulling your hands down to your sides. All of your plants surged forward, piercing through the demon’s body. She shrieked, unable to move as more grew, wrapping up around her. You pulled down, straining as you felt her try and fight back. But it was no use. Her own vines wrapped around her, pinning her to the ground. 

The vine in your chest stirred. It was hungry. 

You felt a tinge of excitement, and you didn’t think it was your own. 

You walked slowly as the demon struggled, mentally preparing for what the vine expected of you. You had done this numerous times before, but never on a demon of this size. You remembered the words V had given you when he first taught you what to do. It’s a transference of energy, he’d said as he jabbed his cane into the head of a demon. You’re taking what is rightfully yours. 

How is it rightfully mine?

Strength rules all in the Underworld, my vine. If you defeat a creature like this, its power is yours to take. And if you want to live, you’ll remember that. 

You did remember. You’d hesitated once after he’d left and it had nearly killed you. Now, you promised yourself that would never happen again. 

You just wished nobody was here to see it. 

As you made your way to the front, you shed your shirt, letting it drop at your feet. You were grateful when neither of the brothers said anything, as you fully expected at least Dante to throw something your way. The demon struggled more, but it was useless. “Strength rules all,” You murmured as you reached your hand out toward her body. She shrieked again, trying to dissuade you. But you barely heard it, wincing as the vine emerged from your chest. It was small at first but grew as it wrapped around your arm, heading for the demon. 

“No!” The demon yelled. “You can’t do this.”

“The better sister, huh,” You said. “Not anymore.”

“Human!” She shouted. “Don’t…” But the vine shot upward, piercing her through the heart. Your senses flared to life, even brighter then they had been before. You watched as blue blood slipped through the vine and back into you. You took a deep, slow breath, adjusting to the foreign feeling. You felt lightheaded, but you always did like this. Your body couldn’t handle the blood. It was human. Fragile. But once the vine snapped back, all would return to normal, its magic doing whatever it needed to do to keep you alive. Before you, the demon shrunk, wilting away as her life slipped out of her body. 

After another moment, the vine pulled away, drawing back into you. The wound closed, leaving behind the same, star-shaped scar that you’d stared at for months. For a moment, the demon stood there, mouth agape as she stared up at the sky. Then, she tumbled backward, shattering like a brittle leaf crushed under the weight of someone like you. You felt dizzy as your heartbeat quickened. You reached for your shirt, but stumbled and fell to your knees. You’d never defeated such a large demon. Not on your own. It had always been V to take the power from them, and you’d gladly given it. But now…

You shuddered as nausea swept over you. Exhaustion spread to all of your muscles, threatening to drag you into a deep slumber.  You managed to get your shirt back on, but it was clumsy. You could barely breathe. Barely think. The world felt so small. So constricting. You’d never felt this bad in your life.

Had you taken too much?

Stay strong, V had said the first time you’d absorbed a demon. Its power is yours to keep. 

You felt a hand on your back.  Stay strong V whispered again. 

Yours to keep.